The Best Pots for Your Favorite One-Pot Meals

Maximize your cooking while minimizing the cleaning with these must-have pots and pans.

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ByJeremy Repanich

Published on March 7, 2017

Photography by CIAO FLORENTINA

Beef Stew: Le Creuset 5 ½-Quart Round Dutch Oven

This venerable French cookware company has been making exceptional products for nearly a century. le creuset s signature line of enameled-cast iron dutch ovens is a most for any serious kitchen. The cast iron conducts heat really well, meaning you’ll be able get a hard sear on your beef on the cooktop to develop maximum flavor. Then, when you add the rest of your ingredients and transfer the pot to the oven, it’ll cook evenly.

Photography by CUISINART

Whole Roast with Root Vegetables: Cuisinart Roaster

You could spend a whole lot more money on a roasting pan and definitely a whole lot less. On the whole lot less side, you’re buying a flimsy aluminum pan at the grocery store, which is fine for a one-time roast. But you won’t be able to transfer it to the stovetop to make a pan sauce. With more expensive pans, you’re getting a lot of extraneous technology. This Cuisinart roaster gives you three-layer stainless steel for even heating and durability. You’ll easily be able to roast up to a whole turkey with vegetables and then quickly whip up a gravy in it with the drippings.

Photography by SUR LA TABLE

Lasagna: Sur La Table Lasagna Baker

When cooking lasagna, the acids in the tomato can react with metal pans, negatively affecting the flavor of your dish. However, with a stoneware pan, you’ll achieve even cooking without any change taste. Sur La Table’s dish allows you to make a deep, crowd-pleasing lasagna, and the stylish design allows it to double as servingware.

Photography by MARTHA STEWART/YOUTUBE

Martha Stewart’s Famous One-Pan Pasta: All-Clad Saute Pan

This recipe is legend. In just nine minutes you can have a complete pasta dinner for four. The perfect pan for this should be shallow enough to boil quickly and wide enough to fit the noodles with breaking. All-Clad’s straight-sided pan fits the bill perfectly. The three-layer stainless steel pan will heat evenly across its wide surface and have the durability to last through years of use.

Photography by COOKING CLASSY

Fish Fillets with Vegetables: Nordic Ware Sheet Pan

When America’s Test Kitchen put the eight leading sheet pans through their punishing and extensive review process, Nordic Ware stood ahead of the crowd, despite not being near the most expensive model they tested. With the Nordic Ware you’ll get even cooking, good browning on your vegetables, and it won’t warp and contort like other sheet pans on the market.

Photography by PLATED CRAVINGS

Chili: Instant Pot

If a kitchen gadget could classify as going viral, the Instant Pot is it. Around the internet, people rave about this $99 wonder gadget that’s a pressure cooker, slow cooker, yogurt maker, rice cooker and steamer all in one. What makes it great for chili is that unlike a slow cooker you can brown off your meat and sauté your veggies before adding wet ingredients. Also, the pressure cooker setting will allow you cook beans much much faster, making your flavorful chili come together quicker than ever before.

Photography by MAFTER BOURGEAT

Paella: Matfer Bourgeat Black Steel Paella Pan

When making a paella, one of the defining characteristics is that crispy layer of rice on the bottom called the socarrat. That layer provides a nice textural contrast to the soft rice at the top. Now, using a light, shiny metal pan will still cook your paella well, but it won’t develop as great a socarrat as Mafter Bourgeat’s black steel pan. The darker the pan, the more heat it absorbs.

Photography by COUNTRY CLEAVER

Chicken Pot Pie: Lodge Cast Iron Skillet

Whether it’s whipping up a batch of cornbread, searing off steaks or preparing this pot pie, every kitchen needs a Lodge cast iron skillet. Inexpensive and pre-seasoned for better non-stick, this heavy duty pan will last for decades with proper care. It’s especially great for preparations where you’re going from stovetop to oven and vice versa. For pot pie, you’ll cook ingredients right in the pan, then cover with a pastry and finish in the oven.